Mailbag

St. Peter and Joe Sweeney Have a Chat

So Joe Sweeney's knocking at the Pearly Gates. ("So Long, Sweeney," The Skinny, April 7).

St. Peter slides back the grille. "May I see your ID?"

Joe stands there shuffling his feet while St. Pete is shuffling his papers. St. Pete scratches his beard and frowns, and shoves the papers back. "These are shit, Joe. I can't let you in."

St. Pete points over his own left shoulder. "Sneak 'round back, and climb over the wall."

Terri Shay

Comments From Readers at TucsonWeekly.com

Regarding Guest Commentary, April 14:

Jon (Jonathan Hoffman) must be a Republican. You think? Jon, if you really want to keep that "chain of custody" thing going, just look at what you wrote—THERE WILL BE A POLLING PLACE IN EACH WARD.

—icecld2

One thing Jonathan forgot to point out is that public voting, especially as practiced in the United States, is the greatest "civility institute" ever created. It's amazing that we can regularly go out to vote and that there is no major threat of violence or intimidation, especially given the high level of emotion that often attends political differences. There are exceptions, of course, such as the Jim Crow South, or if a citizen currently lives in a neighborhood where the Black Panthers show up to "volunteer." But all in all, our elections are a nationwide "teachable moment" as pertains to the democratic process and civil society. We risk losing that sense of community and shared values (though we differ in political views) if mail-in voting replaces doing so in the public square.

—TT

TT is right. Voting at the polls, in person, is one of those times when folks with all sorts of political leanings can come together in peace. ... TT (says) nothing (about) the first person to comment. ... ONE single polling location (per ward) means only six in the entire city.